Door operating mechanism



July 2 1952 M. M. MATCHETT DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM 2 SHEET -SHEET 1 Filed June 2'. 194'! INVENTOR.

MAHLON M.MATCHETT ATTORNEY$ 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 M. M. MATCHETT DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM IIENVENTOR.

MAHLON M. MATCHETT ATTORNEYS July 29, 1952 Filed June 2, 1947 Patented July 29', 1952 DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Mahlon M. Matchett; Detroit, Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to McKee Door Company, Aurora, IlL,v a corporation of Illinois Application June 2, 1947, Serial-No. 751,645

3- Claims.

I The present invention relates to door operating mechanismand more particularly to mechanism of the class described which cooperates with an articulated overheadsliding garage door.

It is an object of the present invention to provide positive acting means for effecting opening and closing movement of an articulated overhead-sliding garage door.

It'is'a further object of the present invention to provide simplified means including a horizontally movable carriage for connection to the top-ofan articulated overhead sliding door..

It" is a further object of the present invention to provide operating means for an articulated overhead slidingv dOOr characterized by the simplicity of the construction, the ease with which the mechanism may be installedand the efficiency or operation-of the mechanism.

Itis a feature of the present invention to provide a horizontally movable carriage in conjunction with anarticulated overhead sliding garage door, a guide bar on which said carriage is mounted, rollers on said carriage engaging opposite sides of said guide bar, means for connecting thecarriage to the top of the door and means for moving the carriage in opposite directions along the guide bar, both of said means being connected to the carriage at points intermediatesaid rollers.

Other objects and features of theinvention will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure I is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the general assembly of operating mechanism with a garage door;

Figure- 2 is a horizontal section taken on a plane above the door -'operating mechanism and looking downwardly;

Figure- 3 is an enlarged fragmentary end view lookingin the direction of the arrows 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 4 -4 of Figure 2;

Figure is an enlarged fragmentary view looking in the directionofthe arrows 5--5 of- Figure 2 and? Figure: 6:: is a fragmentary- 8-6 of Figure 4'.

Referring nowto. Figure. 1; there is illustrated a. building. such as a garage l0 havin a door opening: Ii therein. The: door opening. H is adapted to beyclosed'. by an articulated overhead Sliding; door: indicated generally at. t2, the door being: composed of: panels; lzilrarticulated. along section onthe lin'e horizontal; lines l4;

A pairof opposed tracks are provided-on which the door is:slidingly mounted and each of. these tracks. comprises avertical portion I5 at eacliside of thedoor opening I I, a horizontal overheadportion lfi located above the plane of thedoor open"- ing II, the vertical portion l5 and the horizontal portion l6 being interconnected by an arcuate portion I1.

Thedoor to which the improved operating mechanism is applied is or may be of well known construction and preferably includes counterbalancing: mechanism which forms no part-ot'the present invention. However, since this counterbalancing': mechanism reducesthe load which the operating mechanism has to overcome; the counterbalancing mechanism will b briefly d'e scribed. Mounted above the vertical portions ii of the trackways is a horizontal transverse shaft 20 having spools 2 l' on-which cables 22 are Wound. Cables 22, as best seen in Figure 3, extend d'o'wnwardly from the spools 21 and are connected'to brackets 23 adjacent the bottom of thedoor 42. A torsion spring 24 is provided surrounding the shaft 20, one end of which may be secured'to a sleeve 25 rigidly carried by theshaft 20. The opposite end of the torsion spring is secured to a stationary support 26'carriedby one ofthe track supporting brackets 21. The spring applie's torque to the shaft 20 tending to rotate the same Jina direction to wind up the cables '22 on the-spools 2| and thus to counterbalance a substantial portion of the weight of the door l2; 7 I

The operating mechanism for the door com prisesessentially a-carriage 30, a-guide-bar-il along which the carriage is movable, a link "32 connecting'the'carriageto a bracket-'33 carried by the top of the uppermost door s'ection "l3, and means for efiecting back and-forth movement of the carriage 30 along the guide bar 31.

As best seen in Figures 4 and 6, the carriage 30 is illustrated as comprising a pair of diamond shaped plates 35 between which are journaled concave rollers 36 mounted on pivot pins'31extending between the plates 35. Suitable spacers 38 are provided for supporting the concave rollers 36. The guide bar 31 as seen in these figures preferably is formed of" a bar of circular crossse'ction and may conveniently be of tubularponstruction. The concavity of the rollers 36" is' 'of course such as to match the cross-sectional dimensions of the guide bar 3 I.

The bracket 33 extends slightly above the upper edge of the upper door section It so'that' as the door reaches fully open position the link 32 does not interfere therewith. At the same time, when-the door is" in closed position the link-32 is completely housed within th garage. As best seen in Figures 4 and 6, the link 32 comprises a pair of straps 40 preferably twisted as indicated at M and secured at opposite sides of the carriage 30 by means of pivot pins 42. The axis of the pivot pins 42 is intermediate the axes of the rollers 36; thereby avoiding any tendency to cause binding of the carriage as it moves alon the guide bar 3|. The straps 4B are pivotally connected to the bracket 33 by a pivot pin 43.

Movement of the carriage 30 back and forth along the guide bar 3! is illustrated as accomplished by means of a cable. 50 passing around a stationary sheave mounted above the door opening and slightly above the plane established by the horizontal portion it of the door supporting trackway. A driving drum 52 for the cable is provided, and as best seen in Figure 5 the drum 52 is provided with helical grooves 53 for guidingly receiving the cable 50. A plurality of turns of; the cable are on the drum 52 so that positive driving action of the cable is effected by rotation of the drum. As best seen in Figure 4, ends of the cable 5!) are securedv to the carriage 30 by clamp screws 55, these screws being located intermediate the axes of the guide rollers 36 so as to avoid any tendency for binding, as driving force is applied to the carriage by the cable 50.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 5, there is illustrated the means for efiecting positive rotation of the drive drum 52. This means takes the form, of a motor 60 mounted on a supporting frame 6!, the frame being supported on'a bracket 62 bolted or otherwise secured to a supporting element 63. A worm shaft 65 is mounted in the frame BI and carries a sheave 66 driven by a belt 61 from a driving sheave 68 connected to the motor shaft. A worm gear housing l0 is secured to the frame 6| and includes a worm gear H in meshing engagement with a worm 12 mounted on the worm shaft 65. The worm gear H is connected in driving relation to a shaft upon which is mounted the drum 52. A supporting bracket 80 is connected to the housing 10 for supporting the front end of the motor and driving transmission, the bracket 80 including an arm 82 which is formed to Provide a support for the innermost end of the guide bar 3|, Inasmuch as the transmission between the motor 60 and the carriage includes a worm and worm gear, the transmission is self-locking in the sense that when the motor 60 is deenergized, force applied directly to the door either in openingor closing direction will not result in movement of the door. This prevents accidental movement of the door from open to closed position when the motor is deenergized.

The door operating mechanism is effective to causepositive movement of the door fromopen to closed position, or vice versa, and due to the fact that the counterbalancing mechanism including a torsion spring 24 is retained, a minimum of power is required to open and close the door. A As will readily be understood, the motor 60 .may be provided with automatic controls so that cise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A door operating mechanism for an overhead sliding articulated door of the type having door supporting trackways at opposite sides of the door opening, each of said trackways including a vertical portion adjacent the edges of the door opening, a horizontal portion extending inwardly from the door opening, and an arcuate portion interconnecting said horizontal and vertical portions, said mechanism comprising a horizontal guide bar of circular cross section supported at its ends, a carriage movable along said guide bar, said carriage comprising a pair of opposed concave rollers, said rollers being in vertical alignment and one of said rollers being an upper roller engaging the top surface of said bar, and the other roller being a lower roller engaging the under surface of said bar, a pair of side plates at opposite sides of said bar, and means extending between said plates on which said rollers are rotatably mounted, said carriage having its center of gravity located in the horizontal axial plane of said guide bar intermediate said rollers, reversible flexible drive means for moving said carriage in either direction on said rod, means connecting said flexible drivemeans to opposite ends of said carriageat points in the horizontal axial plane of said bar, the forces being applied to said carriage from said flexible drive means in horizontal alignment with the center of gravity of said carriage to prevent rotation of said carriage relative to said bar, a link for connecting said carriage to a sliding articulated door, said link having spaced ears to extend to either side of said carriage, pivot connections between each of said ears and the adjacent one of said plates, said pivot connections having a common axis located midway between the axes of said rollers in horizontal alignment with the center of gravity of said carriage and in horizontal alignment with the points of attachment of said flexible drive means to said carriage, the forces being applied to said carriage from said link through the center of gravity of said carriage to prevent rotation of said carriage relative to said bar, and a prime mover for said drive means, said link constituting the sole connection between said prime mover and said door, and said pair of rollers constituting the only members of said carriage in contact with said guide bar.

2. The combination with an overhead sliding articulated door of a door operating mechanism comprising a horizontal guide bar of, circular cross section supported at its ends, a carriage movable along said guide bar, said carriage comprising a pair of opposed concave rollers, said rollers being in vertical alignment and one of said rollers being an upper roller engaging the top surface of said bar, and the other roller being a lower roller engaging the under surface of said bar, a pair of side plates at opposite sides of said bar, and means extending between said plates on which said rollers are rotatably mounted, said carriage having its center of gravity' located in the horizontal axial plane of said guide bar intermediate said rollers, reversible flexible drive means for moving said carriage in either direction on said rod, means connecting said flexible drive means to opposite ends of said carriage at points in the horizontal axial plane of said bar, the forces being applied to said carriage from said flexible drive means in horizontal alignment with the center of gravity of said carriage to prevent rotation of said carriage relative to said bar, a link for connecting said carriage to a sliding articulated door, said link having spaced ears to extend to either side of said carriage, pivot connections between each of said ears and the adjacent one of said plates, said pivot connections having a common axis located midway between the axes of said rollers in horizontal alignment with the center of gravity of said carriage and in horizontal alignment with the points of attachment of said flexible drive means to said carriage, the forces being applied to said carriage from said link through the center of gravity of said'carriage to prevent rotation of said carriage relative to said bar, and a prime mover for said drive means.

3. The combination with an overhead sliding articulated door of a door operating mechanism comprising a horizontal guide bar of circular cross section supported at its ends, acarriage movable along said guide bar, said carriage comprising a pair of opposed concave rollers, said rollers being in vertical alignment and one of said rollers being an upper roller engaging the top surface of said bar, and the other roller being a lower roller engaging the under surface of said bar, a pair of side plates at opposite sides of said bar, and means extending between said plates on which said rollers are rotatably mounted, said carriage having its center of gravity located in the horizontal axial plane of said guidebar intermediate said rollers, reversible flexible drive means for moving said carriage in either direction on said rod, said flexible drive means being disposed horizontally along said guide bar, means connecting said carriage at points in the horizontal axial plane of said bar, the forces being applied to said carriage from said flexible drive means in horizonal alignment with the center of gravity of said carriage to prevent rotation of said carriage relative to said bar, a link for connecting said carriage to a sliding articulated door, said link having spaced ears to extend to either side of said carriage, pivot connections between each of said ears and the adjacent one of said plates, said pivot connections having a common axis located midway between the axes of said rollers in horizontal alignment with the'center of gravity of said carriage and in horizontal alignment with the points of attachment of said flexible drive means to said carriage, the forces being applied to said carriage from said link through the center of gravity of said carriage to prevent ro-' tation of said carriage relative to said bar, and a prime mover for said drive means, saidlink constituting the sole connection between said prime mover and said door and said pair of rollv ers constituting the only members of said carriage in contact with said guide bar.

MAHLON M. MATCHETT.

REFERENCES CITED- The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,222,090 Findley Apr. 10, 1917 1,412,985 Walther ..Apr. '18, 1922 1,465,695 Stewart Aug. 21, 1923 1,661,719 Edwards et al. Mar. 6, 1928 2,070,058 McCloud Feb. 9, 1937 2,084,733 Kahliff June 22, 1937 2,204,638 Weathers June 18, 1940 2,262,719 Collins Nov. 11, 1941 2,330,006 Odenthal Sept. 21, 1943 2,401,082 Konter May 28, 1946 

